BOTTLE LOCKS FOR ALL ALCOHOL PRODUCTS NOT JUST THE EXPENSIVE ONES

Having worked both the retail market and grocery market in regards to loss prevention, I’ve seen my fair share of incidents involving the direct theft of liquor, wine and other alcoholic goods. One case in particular however happened before bottle security had evolved but in hindsight, I can see how it could have changed the outcome. 

One afternoon before work, I received an urgent phone call from my DLPM (District Loss Prevention Manager). He asked me to deviate from my normally scheduled store for that day and head directly to a different store instead. It was a store that our loss prevention personnel rarely had to staff for shoplifter surveillance. He explained to me that for the past couple of days, store management reported that the wine section of the store was getting ‘hit’ significantly hard with theft. It’s something that would have never happened if the bottle locks were being used.

The bottle lock, introduced to the market in 2002 by Alpha Security, is an ingenious device that prevents liquor bottles from being opened without destroying the bottle itself. A definite highly effective theft prevention tool. Anyhow, after rerouting myself to the problem store and speaking with management, I thought it might be best to ask if anyone had reviewed the CCTV footage of the wine department to try and identify the problem. Of course no one had thought of reviewing the footage so I thought I’d start there. Seemed to me that they should have been more attentive to overall bottle security!

Scanning through the video footage, I observed a male subject enter into the wine department and proceed to act suspiciously. I was alerted to him due to his excessive clothing (winter coat, even though it was June) and obvious glances up towards the surveillance cameras. He proceeded to the section of the wine department that housed the most expensive brands.

I thought for sure that I’d see him select the $100+ bottles of wine. He would look through the shelves, pretending to read the labels. However I could tell that he was actually examining the tops of the bottles. I assumed to see which bottles he could get into quickest. The store had most recently tried using a less sophisticated version of today’s bottle locks and it appeared that he was avoiding the ones that had those bottle lock devices on top. As it turned out, he stayed clear of the more expensive wine that we had in stock and proceeded to the cheaper product. I noticed that he began to select bottles off the shelves that didn’t have bottle locks installed on them. They were actually void of any bottle security whatsoever because those cheaper wines weren’t in the view of our CCTV camera placements. 

This guy loaded up on five cheap bottles of wine and stuffed them all into a makeshift girdle sling that was situated underneath of his winter coat. After realizing that the coast was clear, he made a B line for the front of the store, passed all points of sale and exited. At the time I was thinking to myself that it was a normal, run of the mill case of a hobo wanting some alcohol to drown his sorrows in.  Boy was I wrong!

I don’t know what made me think of it but I decided to take a look at the exterior parking lot camera. From there I could see the guy climb into a minivan parked along the far perimeter of lot. It was sort of difficult to make out but I could tell that there were other people in the minivan with him. The more I looked at the footage, it looked like there were at least 4 other people in the vehicle with him. I could tell from the shadows casting through the glass that they were passing around the wine bottles he had just stolen. 

To make a long story short, I was able to uncover additional footage of this guy (and his drinking buddies) coming into the store and boosting around 10-15 bottles of wine each night for at least the past few nights.  What they were doing was coming into the store, loading up on bottles and getting drunk outside in the parking lot. With no bottle lock security in place, it was easy pickings. Management decided to place the bottle lock devices on all alcoholic products thereafter. The guys never came back and loss was averted from thereon! No matter cheap or expensive; this is the way to go when bumping up your bottle security! 

For more information about bottle locks contact us at 1-770-426-0547.

FLYING HIGH WITH CHECKPOINT LABELS

I’ve been an LP manager for years and years now. One thing that has evolved over time is the prevalence of social media and how it correlates with theft. Open up a new tab and go to Facebook. It’s ok, I’ll wait. Within a few seconds, you can find “online garage sales” for just about anywhere in the country. While mostly this is great if you want to try and clear out some of that junk in the attic or in the closets, some people are using these pages as an easy and often anonymous way to fence stolen goods. Sometimes it’s not enough to simply stop shoplifting, but you have to stop/shutdown/dismantle the avenues in which the stolen property is being resold. Only then will you truly put a stop to the losses. Sometimes, this can be done with a little research and something as small and simple as a Checkpoint Label.  

Just a few weeks ago I was conducting a floor walk and I came to the outdoor game section of the store. This is where we stock yard games, toys, etc. A new and popular category for us is disc golf. The sport is really sweeping the country right now. Chances are if you looked it up in your area, you’d find several courses in your community. I’m also an avid, albeit amateur player, myself. So I’m always drawn to this area of the store. I make it a part of my day to ensure that the shelves are stocked and everything is in its place. It is a new category for my store, so I want to capture as many sales as possible. 

I came in one morning a few weeks back and at some point during the day, I walked over to the discs and noticed that the entire aisle was empty. There was not a single disc left. Surely, we had to be re-working the aisle, or perhaps even a large sale had happened over the weekend. After checking with the other managers and looking at the sales over the weekend, it became abundantly clear that they had been stolen. I never thought I’d have to take measures to stop shoplifting on these items! 

We reported the theft to local police and corrected our inventory. It was a nearly $5,000 loss. Well, I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I had a trick up my sleeve. Well, not really up my sleeve; just a roll of Checkpoint Labels in my office. When we were finally replenished on the stolen goods, I made it a point to tag every single disc with a soft tag. These had my store’s logo and number on it, so I could identify the product should it turn up somewhere it shouldn’t be. I really thought I would stop shoplifting with such a simple solution. I was wrong. 

A few more weeks had gone by and again I walk into to my store and see half the aisle of discs missing. Where did they go? How did they beat the Checkpoint Label? I began investigating the most recent theft, but I couldn’t find any video from the store (mainly since we didn’t have a camera over that aisle). So I then began researching online sites, and that’s when I found one of those online garage sale pages. 

There they were. I had simply stumbled onto the thieves who were targeting my disc golf product. I could even see the tags with my company logo in the photos! A quick call to a detective friend of mine and a staged purchase lead to 4 felony arrests and the recovery of about $4k in product. All due to a simple, yet effective Checkpoint Label 

For more information about Checkpoint Labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Adapting to Theft Trends – Clothing Security

Clothing can provide high profit margins, but it can also provide you with headaches if you don’t make sure you protect it from all forms of loss with a good clothing security plan. Traditional shoplifting isn’t the only way that you can lose your merchandise or profits. Thieves are constantly thinking of new ways to steal from you, so you have to keep up with the trends and safeguard your assets. Using clothing security tags and other merchandise protection devices can really make a difference in your bottom line.

Over the years, I’ve observed many clothing thefts taking place, and sometimes it’s only one or two items that are stolen at a time.  Other times, its more than one person loading up shopping carts full of clothes and other merchandise and rolling it right out of the store. Can you imagine how much that would cost your business, or how many more items you will need to sell just to make up for the loss from a large theft of that kind. Needless to say, this is not something you want happening in your establishment. At very least, you should invest in a good EAS system that will work with all types of clothing security tags, like standard hard or soft tags, and even Alpha shark tags. Things have changed over time, and there are many methods that are being used today to steal or cause you a loss, but some of them are not typical shoplifting incidents.

One emerging trend that can put a real dent in your earnings is called wardrobing, which is a form of return or refund fraud. This is a little more complicated than a shoplifter shoving a pair of pants in a bag and walking out of the store. Wardrobing occurs when someone buys an article of clothing, wears it, and then returns the merchandise. This is becoming a huge problem in retail clothing stores, because it is harder to combat that standard everyday shoplifting. How can you know who is intending on returning the clothing after they wear it? There is no real way to be able to tell, that’s why you need to have a strategy in place for all purchases, or at least for higher priced merchandise. Usually it’s the more expensive items that are targeted, because the sneaky thieves want to look good for a big event, and want to make you pay for it.  

A good way to stop this kind of activity from happening in your store is to use Alpha shark tags. These are a type of clothing security tags that are attached directly to the clothing items. The big difference between Shark Tags and other clothing security devices is that you don’t remove them from the clothing at purchase. They are made to be left on the clothing so that the customer can try on the garment at home and see how they like the items. If they try it on and like it, all they have to do is easily remove the tag. It’s not meant to be hard to remove.

All you need is a pair of scissors. If they don’t like the garment, all they have to do is leave on the tag and return it. Alpha shark tags are an essential part of the fight to stop wardrobing. This is an especially good device for online purchases. The tags are noticeable and highly visible so that people won’t wear the garments out, damage them, and then return them to get their money back and leave you with a used item that no one will want to purchase.  

For more information contact us: clothing security or call 1.770.426.0547

The Sum Of Its Parts- Retail Theft Prevention

There was a recent court ruling regarding employer vs. employee rights surrounding end of shift security training/ checks. It has been an ongoing battle between employers and employees as to who needs to pay for the time an employee spends having their bags checked as they leave the store. This could be a check at the end of an employees work shift, or as they leave the store for meal breaks.

Employees have long since contended that since they are required by their employer to have their bags (packages, purchases, etc) checked before they leave the store, then it is the employer’s responsibility to pay them for that time.

Employers, generally state that the check should take a very minimal quantity of time (often less than a minute to perform) under normal circumstances. They also maintain that if an employee is leaving the store with unpaid for merchandise in their possession, and they are no longer working/ clocked in, there is a stronger case against the employee for employee theft. If an employee is still clocked in, they could potentially state they have the product for a work related situation. It could then be argued that the employee is merely violating policy and procedure, but has no intent of theft.

The courts have now ruled with the employers that they do have a right to hold these security stops while the employee is off the clock. Employees will have to comply with these checks without being paid for their time.
Employers will now have official court rulings in their favor. This does not mean that employers can abuse this ruling and make employees wait for extended periods of time (off the clock) before they are checked out. Maintaining a certain level of respect for the employees will make for longer-term retail theft prevention.

Employees, who know they are being held accountable for their actions, and are shown that theft prevention is taken very seriously by management and owners, are less likely to steal. They are also more likely to remain vigilant about other employee theft situations, and are quicker to point out potential shoplifters. As we all know, vigilant employees who give excellent customer service are by far the most effective and valuable anti shoplifting deterrent available.

The best way to create a positive workplace for employees, who will be subjected to security check after the employee is off the clock, is to ensure that the expectation is clear from the literal Day One. This means during new hire on boarding programs the security checks should be explained in detail. These details should include what the employer’s role will be, what their limitations are, why they are doing this, and what the employee’s role will be. 

By first explaining what the expectation is, employees are well aware of what their new job will be like. Next is ensuring that the checks are performed consistently and professionally. If the checks are sporadic, employees may feel like they are being targeted. They will also feel inconvenienced if they are only occasionally asked to stop, compared to feeling like it is all part of the routine if done consistently on every shift.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547 

Target Hardening through Retail Anti-Theft Devices

When your inventory of DVDs on the sales floor comes up short, where do you think they went? Often you come to the conclusion they must have been shoplifted. The same can be said for your CD sales or your games for your console game system, but especially for your razor blades, fragrances and other small, easily concealable high shrink products. That does not have to be the case however. There are numerous retail anti-theft devices that can help ensure that shoplifting is the last shrink category upon which you attribute inventory losses. Let’s take advantage of technology and “target harden” our merchandise through such items as Alpha keepers for one!

Shoplifters are basically lazy and do not want to work too hard to get your merchandise into their hands and out the doors. It then may come back as returned merchandise to you so you can pay for it twice or you may see your merchandise alongside used stereos and knock off purses and watches on Craig’s List or EBay. Shoplifters are also fearful of apprehension and being noticed so noise, lights, and displays they have to “fight” with make them think that there are much softer targets out there they should visit rather than spending the time and risking getting caught in your store – if you are using retail anti-theft devices.

This author is intimately familiar with such devices as they were used in companies I had the pleasure with being associated. It gives a loss prevention manager and thus a retail store manager a great deal of peace-of-mind when he sees his high theft movie DVDs protected with such hardened keepers as the Protect DVD or Protect CD. These products roll bells, lights, and whistles all into retail anti-theft devices that make the shoplifter think that he should just wear a sign saying “please arrest me.” You see, these Alpha keepers are hardened polycarbonate cases with a magnetic lock that are transparent so your product is still plainly visible, including the bar code, to your customer. They have their own built in electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag as well as some other surprises for a would-be thief, including a tamper alarm if the thief tries to open the case without the special magnetic key and a built in alarm that will go off after the item leaves your store with or without an EAS system in place. They also have lights that blink on and off as a visual deterrent but pose no unnecessary delay for your cashier in getting the device off and getting your customer checked-out. They can also still be hung on a hanger without difficulty.

One wishes he had a digital movie camera in hand when the would-be thief, unfamiliar with retail anti-theft devices, tries to open a Protect DVD or Protect CD in the store to get to the merchandise and conceal it and the alarm goes off, forcing him to try to muffle it with his hand or stick it down his pants so it does not make so much noise and draw so much attention – too late. You then need a close-up zoom feature for that look when you tell him that tampering with retail anti-theft devices in your state is a felony and constitutes shoplifting in itself.

Wrapping this up … target hardening will help a retailer sleep better at night, knowing that his high-theft merchandise is where it needs to be: either in the paying customer’s possession or in the store in a Protect DVD or Protect CD waiting for the paying customer. It will also send the aspiring shoplifter down the street to your competitor for fear of you featuring him on America’s Funniest Home Videos!

For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us: 1.770.426.0547.

Promote Safety And Prevent Shoplifting During The Inventory Process

If you haven’t already completed your physical inventory process by now, it’s probably coming up very soon.  You surely know that you have to prepare the store and merchandise for the actual counting event, and prepare your team for the chaos with a solid plan of action.  With all of the additional people in the store and extra workload, it can be a difficult task to prevent shoplifting and workplace accidents at the same time.  In addition to preparing the merchandise and team for the counting and auditing, you should also ensure your team is on the lookout for safety and theft concerns during the entire process. It’s important that you discuss this with your team before the big event, because you are obviously going to be extremely busy that day and you’ll need help identifying and correcting any issues that arise.

It’s a good idea to have all of your normal tasks already taken care of so you don’t have to worry about this during the inventory process.   Make sure all of your merchandise is fully protected with retail anti-theft devices like the Alpha Spider Wrap.  These types of devices not only provide great deterrence, but they also immediately let you know that someone is tampering with the device and trying to steal your merchandise.  This can be an invaluable tool on days when you can’t give your high theft merchandise the full attention usually given by associates in the area, and will go a long way to help prevent shoplifting and alert your team to any attempted thefts as they occur.  You’ll be able to hear the alarm while you are completing other tasks, and respond appropriately.

In addition to ensuring all of your merchandise is protected, you should also be preparing your team for the safety concerns that may arise during the process.  The inventory preparation process can be a daunting task to complete, and even normally safety conscious employees are often rushing to complete tasks in order to comply with a fast approaching deadline.  This is when accidents are most likely to happen.  Working in larger, big box stores, you usually have an outside company come in and perform the actual inventory counting.  Normally this is done by a company that brings in a lot of people into the store at one time and completes the scanning of merchandise within a day or less.  You can imagine that this translates to an environment that is busier than your employees are used to working.

So make sure you take advantage of anything that can make the entire process smoother and limit any distractions, such as retail anti-theft devices that are made to prevent shoplifting, before you start the inventory process. You will have plenty of other things to worry about, and you can be confident that your products are being protected from shoplifters while you are attending to your other tasks.   This way you can focus on getting accurate, and the best possible results from the count. After merchandise is counted, you should be conducting audits on the counts that have been performed by your team, or the third party company to ensure that any mistakes are fixed prior to the final numbers being keyed.  It’s normal to find some mistakes while auditing previous counts, so expect that you will find them.  When auditing, you obviously want to spend some time on high dollar merchandise that can have the most effect on your 

For more information contact us: Prevent Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547